Blue Tit in Blackthorn blossom

Blue Tits are one of our most decorative birds. If only we could see them as they see each other. The males and females look identical to the human eye, but not to a bird’s eye. Many birds can see in ultra-violet and, when viewed in ultra-violet, male Blue Tits have an incredibly fluorescent crest.

This Blue Tit is perched in a Blackthorn bush in glorious blossom. Still clinging on, are the shrivelled remains of last year’s sloes.

Many insects also see in ultra-violet and plants have often evolved to take advantage of this by having extreme patterns and markings on their petal runways to guide insects to their food-for-pollen programme. To us, flowers might look plain and white but they might be a completely different sensory experience for other species.

The natural world; there’s so much we still haven’t seen.